Same-sex marriage bill passes House of Representatives

The atmosphere in Parliament was euphoric on Thursday as the law was passed allowing same-sex couples to marry.

Macquarie MP Susan Templeman and Malcolm McPherson at the party celebrating marriage equality being passed on Thursday.

Malcolm McPherson, on the committee of Blue Mountains LGBTIQ community group Pink Mountains, and a longtime marriage equality campaigner, had travelled to Canberra for the historic occasion.

He described a packed public gallery that frequently cheered as the bill was being read and then the Canberra gay and lesbian choir broke into song We are One.

“There was wave after wave of applause,” Mr McPherson, from Katoomba, said.

“It’s so fabulous to get this finally done.”

Susan Templeman celebrating with Ian Thorpe on Thursday.

“As hard as it has been, it’s wonderful to have such widespread support across the community.”

He thanked the Blue Mountains community for their support, including community leaders like the mayor Mark Greenhill and councillor Romola Hollywood, “who were at railway stations at 5am handing out leaflets for us.”

Celebrations continued at an after party in Parliament, where Mr McPherson met up with Macquarie MP Susan Templeman. She said it was privilege to be part of the historic moment when the vote was passed.

“It was absolutely amazing and I think we're still smiling," Ms Templeman said.

The bill passed the House of Representatives just before 6pm on Thursday. It’s expected the first legally recognised same-sex wedding could take place from January 9.

It follows last month’s overwhelming “yes” result in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey.